Beater mechanism.



W. H. RICE, DEGD.

J. E. RICE, ADMINISTRATOR. HEATER MECHANISM.

1,109,302 APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1913. t t d 'jWII I IAM H. R CE, ormuseum-sew YORK; Jessi ;m'aagi mmsmmoeor i Thisf invention:v relatesto'beater-mecht,

' .-$AIJJ WILLIAM RICE'DEOEASED. e

v BnA'rnn iyrnonaivrsm i i sweet ner Lease-safes. Sept: 1, i914.

lQriginal application filed February 23,1 59, Serial-117( 475.632 nivaea nq this ai p1iation filed. may 5,

a I 1913.'3Seria1No.f765,713.;

To dZZ..wlit2t.it-wiag 0mm I l e I Be it known that I, VVILLIAIVLH.Rlonea citizenottheUnited States, andresident of Rochester, :in thecounty of'Monroef and State of New York, have inventedcertain new anduseful Improvements.in Beater Mechanis1n,-bf which the following i aspecification.

nism i 'adapted for. use fin: connection with agricultural machines,particularly Wlth ma-zj chines for dlgging peanuts, potatoes and.

the like, the beater nechanism being "de "signed for the purposeofseparating the ad herent earth from the vines and tubers which have beendug, and for the further purpose the] larger tubers from the ofseparating vlnes. v

The invention relates particularly to. heaters of the type in which thematerials,

to "be acted upon, .are'supportedf uponfla series ofiparallel rods-orfingers, which are agitated to assist the separation of the ma 1terials, while the materials are {impelled to ward the free'ends of thefingers by 'means' of beater-arms rotating between the fingers.

One Object of the invention is to improve the construction andoperationjof the means for agitating the beater-fingerg bothby pro vviding, in a simple and efi'ective' manner, for

the adjustment of the amplitude 'offthe movement of the fingers inaccordance with the natureflof the material to be, operated upon, and byproviding against the tendency of vines to wind around the means bywhichI .the'beater-arms are actuated. v second object -o ff'the'inventionisfto I adapt the 'beaterito 'jseparate at 'leastthe largertubers fromthe f v'ines,p'inj'faddition to freeing the vines and tubers fromadherent earth; anda third object of the inventionis to providemeans'jby which the amplitude of mover'nent of the beater-'finge'ramaybe.

readily'changed at will during the operation of the machine, "inaccordance with variations in the nature of the ground overwhich 1 thebearing bar by neansof'bolts 14'. The

the machine is work ng.

' various featuresl'of ;construction by which these several objectsareattained, will be. set; forth in eonnection with 'theffollowing;description of the illustrated embodiment of g ing partsofgthefixed.framework of the the invent ion; J i

In the accompanying drawings zfFigure 1 is aside-elevation ofbeater-mechanism embodying the present invention; as applied tovamachine for digging peanuts, p0.- tatoes and the flike certain otherportions of the nachine'being. shown toillustrate the manner in which ithe beater-mechanism may .be mounted andwactuated; Fig. 2 is aplanv1ew,;on* a l argen scaldsof a portion of the ibeater mechanismincludingv the theater 1.3:

fingersiand the beater arms; Fig.3 is a sideelevatlon'of the parts shownin Fig. 2; and- Fig. .4 is a section, on a still larger scale,

taken on the'line lk-in Fig; 3. i

The inventiomas illustrated, is embodied in a machinehaving thelusualsupporting- -.wheels I 5, at least" one of which constitutes ,also atraction-Wheel for actuating the various. IIlGQhiLIllSIIlS of themachine." These iwheelsl'are journaled on anax-le 6, to which gone atleast of them is .rotatively,connected In addition to means(not'shownyfor 'ging thevines and tubers, the machine'i's :provided withan endlesconveyer 7, which carries the material to the beater-mechanismand is adapted to" discharge it upon the beater-fingers, owing 'to' therelative posi-,

'tions of the fingers' andj'the rear-end of'the conveyor, as shown inFig.3.

The beater-mechanismis inelosedgfor the fin'ost part, a between "side'w'alls' 8,; shown Fig. 1, by 'which the material is confined upon thebeater-fingersunt'il iti's fin'ally dis-'9 "chargedefrom the -rear;ends;of the fingers; These fingers comprise a series ofparall'el-j iron rodsextending in a fore-and-aft dire'c-' tion, and slightly inclined towardtheir rear I ends. *iThefingersare arranged 'inpair's,

each pair comprising fingers 9 and' lo'iwhich are made, integrally ofsingle length of rod,*as shown'iin Fig1i2." Therod isbent" into u shape,so as to provide, at its forward The parts 11 aresupported on atransverse bearingbar 12, and are retained thereon by means of achannel-shaped-jbar v 13 fixed to s portion, a transverseconnecting-member .11 v which serves as; a Journal for the fingerschannel-bar is notched, as shownin Figs. 2

and 3',*to-permit pivotal movement of the fingers Ffor the: purp sehereinafter described, Beneath {the fingers a' transverse shaft [15isgjournaled, onbars 4:0 consume" ates the beater-arms 16. These armsare arranged 1n sets of four, cast integrally, each set of arms beingarrange'dto' rotajte be; tween two adjacent beater-fingers Each set ofarms has a hub fixed upon the shaft by means of a set-screw l7,as shownin Fig 4:, withthe GXceptionofthe two outermost sets,'which arelooseupon the shaftfora reason which will be presently described.

The beater-arms, in addition to performing the usual function ofdevicesof this character, namely, agitating the material upon thefingers and propelling it toward the rear-ends of the fingers,constitute also a portion ofthe means: by which the fingers areagitated; To this ien'd two transverse 'tubular'rods18 are employed'.These rods are seated, at their ends, in-caps l9 (Fig.4)

whichengageslotted lugs -on two. opposite arms atthe endsof theJseriesof arms.

The? rods 18 are fixed in place. byrmeans of 1 through-bolts =21,,.whichpass. through the rods'andithe caps and through slots in the lugs 20,being pro ided, atth'eir ends, with nuts'r2-2" engaging washersThesewashers are toothed sonth'eir inner surfaces," and r 1' engagecorresponding teeth on the lugs 20, as shown 111 Fig.- 4, thus normallysecuring the v parts against accidental rmovement, and

fixin the radialdistanceof-the rodsfromtheshaft15';

In certain: positions oftlie shaft ltfand the beater-arms the;vbeater-fingers restsupon the f hubsof the ar1ns,f as shown in dottedlines inFig. e As the :shaft rotates, however, the intermediate; beaterarms :press- .wagainstth'e tubular rods '18, thus "causing these rodsand the-outermost beater-armsto rotate with the shaft and theintermediate arms. ,Accordingly, the rods are brought intermittentlyintosengagement with the fin "gers; from beneath, thus alternatelyraising and dropping the fingers; and; agitating themto promote.thefseparation of the ma; terials supported on the finger Thejad'ustable connections, between the are iprovided for thenpurpose ofadjusting the "amplitude ofmovement' of the beaterupon'lofose and sandy"groundjaslight movement of thej fingers is sufficient; to'cause' theseparation of the adherent earth fromflthevines;v and tubers, and inthis; case the rods 18 are adjusted nearer to the shaft 15,;so as tolift the fingers through shorter distances.

On theother hand, a, greater amplitude of e sing he Washers 23:5 p heeethedsu a mqvement i arequired in thefingers when" a tm-gf'npon earthofa loamy or tenac1ous3 charactenand in this case the rods 18 areadjusted-"outwardly so as toimove the rgwgers through agreater-;arc;,The adjust-w ments inquestion are performed by loosen-t ing thenuts 22on the through-bolts, disen {The shaft fingers When the machine isoperatingfaces ofthe lugs 20, Yand then sliding the rods andjthethrough-bolts through the slots in the lugs 20f to the requiredposition, the

nuts being then tightened again to fix the The beater-arms which partsinn-position; support the rods 18 are mounted loosely on the shaft 15,as above described, to permit such lateral movement of the arms as isnecessary to permit the nuts-22 to draw the parts {n1 closely togetherby transverse .m'o'vement of the arms in question.

It has heretofore been proposed toprovide'a beater with fingers and wlthbeaterarnis working between the fingers and to Y agitate the fingers bythe rotation ofthe shaft upon which the arms are mounted. In suchprevious constructions, however, so far as the applicant isinformed, themeans for agitating the fingers have been in" theform of cam-like.surfaces ."formed or directly mounted upon the shaft, so that thefingers sult, however,,si nce the rods 18- act repeatedly to swing thefingers away {from the shaft, Hand from the parts immediatelymounted*thereon, so that any vines whichcommence to wind upon the shaftare immediately pulled, away I and freed 1 from the 15 may be actuatedin any convvenient manner, but in the drawings it is illustrated asprovided, at one fend with a sprocket-wheel-Q. This wheel is connected,

by a sprocket-chain 25, with a sprocketwheel-26 journaled, forconvenience, on the gear 28 fixed-on the {axle 6. Accordingly,

shaft {t1 which supports the rear-end of the conveyer 7. Fixed to thesprocketas the machine is drawn forwardly the rotation of ,the axleacts, through the; gearing gust, described, to rotate. the, shaft- 15contantly' in ithe direction indicated by arrows ncig an r of;thefingers, 9 being shorter than the adjacent! intermediatefingers 1 0.

terials, and particularly fthe separationpof the-larger tubers-from thevines, since the As shown part-icular lyv in FigM- ZQthe beater lingersare of d fferent lengths; each "In {thismanner a seriesflof spaces '29areprovided between; the longer fingers 10., and beyonc l: the rear-endsof the fingers 9. This arrange-i 'rnent promotes the separation of l themaspal ces- 29 permit-the tubers to fall between I i the. fingers, whilethe vines are still; supported and agitated by the fingersQlOQand as the'movenient of the fingers is; greatest 3 c 35 of the machine,and aflatch36 and sector gathered by rmeans of a rake carried :bysthe to use themachine over an areai-in which i the character ofthe earth, varies frompoint taining the lever i i adjusted position. As

any moment, in accordance with variations 1n the character ofthegroundover which y the machine is passing, thus provldingfor -vides forthrowing the beater-fingers enfromtlthe rear ends of the fingers l0, and

nected,"by1a link with. ashort 'armw33l v projecting. from-iaiuhanddever34. This I I'agitating-movement is concerned, by throw- 6 position, andin thismanner the movement ,of thefingers-may be discontinued when the-*machine is being drawn idly over the ground from place to place, j asnoegeoa l i at, their 5 rear-ends? the vines are "violently are rfinallydischarged, in the usual manner,

fall uponthej ground, whence they-finay,be

machine, or in any other convenient manner.

-fWhile the radial adjustment of the tubular rods 18Yprovides, asabovedescribed, for s the operation of the machine under, variousconditions, it may sometimeskbe necessary to point,sothatfconstaht or'frequent readjustment of the operation of the fingers is desirable.Toprovide for this I employ manually-operable means by which the.amplitude of movement'flof the "fingers may be regulated duringthecontinued operation 1 barI 12 is-providedgfat its. ends, with trim-wnions30'bywhich it is pivoted inathe frame; members 40, and stone end ofthe bearing-v bar 'an' arm v81 is fixed- This arm is con-H hand-lever ispivoted on the frameaof the machine in .apos1t1on; where rt -isconveniently accessible from the dr1ver7s seat 37 of ordinary f0rmareprovided'for freshown in Fig. 3, the rear-edgeof the bear-i ing-bar 12is adapted to act as a stoppto limit; ,,th e downward movement of thebeater-fingers Accordingly, by swinging the; hand-lever and rocking thebearing-bar on its t'runnions the bearing-bar may be ad justed to aposition in which it will limitthe downward movement of the fingers atany required point within their extreme range of' movement. When thehand-lever is swung forwardly the bearing-baris swung in a clockwisedirection, so as to shorten the amplitude of the pivotal movements ofthe fingers, while these movements may be lengthened by swinging thehand-lever rearwardly. 'By this arrangement the operator of the machineis enabled to vary the amplitude of movement of the vbeater-fingersatthemost efiective operation ofthe machine at all times. Thisconstruction further protirely out of operation, inso far as their ingthe hand-lever to its extreme forward This application is adivision-from my" maracsa a My-invention is not limited to-the "bodimentthereof hereinbeforcdescribed and" r y p I illustrated intheaccompanying drawings,

- but may be embodied in various other forms definedin, the followingclaims." 1

I cla1m:, 7 a

1. Beater-mechanism having, in combinawithin'the nature of the,invention as'it is theirrearward ends, extending beyond the;

others: soxas to provide intermediate spaces ,through which tubers mayfall while the wines are supported by the longer fingers Qand separatedfrom the tubers. y 1 q;

.2. Beatermechanism having, in conibina means, manually operable duringthe operation of the beater, to vary the amplitude of I the vibrationsaccording'with variations inthe character of the material. 4.Beater-mechanism having, 1n combination, a series of fingers lyingside-by-side and adapted to support vines while separatthem fromadherent material; and

means for vibrating the fingers upwardly and'fsimultaneously, said meanscomprising v7 -tion, a series of fingers arrangedside-by-side 5 andadapted to receive material upon their, forward portions, and meansforvibrating the fingersupwardly; some of thejfingers, at

ashaftextending transversely beneath the c' fingers, a rodfixed to andparallel with the shaft, and means for rotating the shaftto impartarr-eccentric movement to the rod and cause it to alternately engage anddisengage the fingers.

5. Beater-mechanism having, in combination, a series of fingers lyingside-by-side and. adapted to support vines while separating them fromadherent material, and means for vibrating the fingers upwardly andsimultaneously; said means comprising a rod extending transverselybeneath the fingers, and means for revolving the rod about an axisparallel with the rod, the rod being adjustable toward and from its axisof revolumovement,

tion to vary the amplitude of its operative 1 85' ',tion, a series offingers arranged side-by-side,

and pivotallylf mounted acent their for; ward ends, upon which theyareadapted to; ileceive material; means for oscillating the fingersupwardly and simultaneously, and means for propellingthe materialtowardthe rearward [ends of the finge1's;-al-ternate jfingers extending fbeyond the intermediate fingers,-[at their rearward ends, sons to pro-Qvide spvaces through which n tubers may fall; whileithe vines aresupported by the longer; fingers and thus separated from the tubers. I;3. Beater-mechanism having, in ICOlllbllHt? ftion, a series;offingersadapted to support, vines while separating them from adherentmaterial, means for .vibrating the, fingers upwardly toproinote theseparation, and

p I I applicationgfiled February .23, 109,'Serial a a [agitated at this1'point,,soas stopull them away: from? the heavier tubers. The vines p,6; Beater meohanism having,lin ooinbina tlon, a series of fingers lylngslde-by-slde and adapted to supportvines'while separating'them' fromadherent material, and means for vibrating the fingers upwardly; saidmeans' comprising a shaft extending transand the rod, adjustable to varythe" distance of the Tod'from the shaft and the'amplitu'dei ofthe'revolutions of the red. I 7. Beater-mechanism having, 1n eo'mbinationfaseries of fingerslying side-by-si'de v and adapted to support vineswhile separating them from adherent material, a shaft extendingtransverselybeneath the fingers, a series. of beater arms mounted on andretated by said shaft, said arms moving between the beater-fingers, anda rod mounted upon said arms and substantially parallel with said.shaft, the rod being revolved about the shaft by the arms, whereby it iscaused to engage the fingers from, beneath and vi-y beneaththefingersand'having an ebcentrie brate them upwardly.

8: Beater-mechanism having, in combination, a series of fingers lyingside-by-side and adapted to support vines While separat ing them' fromadherent material, a shaft extending transversely beneath thefingers, Ia series of beater-arms mounted on and ro'- tatedby said shaft, saidarmsmoving between the beater-fingers, anda rod mounted upon "said armssubstantially-- parallel with said shaft, the rod being revolved aboutthe shaft by'the arms, whereby itliseause'd to,

engage thefing'ers from beneath and vibrate iti'ons with the armsadapted to permit ad justment of the rod toward and from the .9.'Beaterfmechanism having, in combinaating-means adapted to engage thefingers jfrom'beneath and vibrate vthem upwardly through predeterminedpaths of movement, 11 and means for limiting the downwardmovel'O.1Beater.-meehanisn1 having, in combi-- :nation with a series offingers lying'side-by- {sideand free 'to "vibrate. upwardly at I oneend, means for: so; vibrating the fingers, said means comprising arotary: member located lpart adapted to engage the fingers from beneathand adjustable toward and from'the axis of rotation to vary theamplitude of the "vibratory movement. or a 3 WILLIAM-I LRICE.

lVitnesses'L a FARNUM F; DbRsEY,

D. GURNEE. 1 a 1 Copies-of this patent may bobtalin'ed forgive eentsfeaeh, by' addressingthe ,Co'niiaiss'ioner of Patents,

Was in ton-,1). o

ithem upwardly, and the rodhaving 'eonnee- 5 shaft to vary-the amplitudeof its movement tien,'fa series of fingers lying side-by-si'de andpivotally mounted at their ends, actu ment of the fingers about theirpivotal

